Sunday, January 25, 2015

BREAKTHROUGH AT PLESS, Sept. 2, 1939

Situation Report

East
of Krakow, South Poland, September 2, 1939: The German 5th
Panzer Division has broken through the outer defenses in Southern Poland and is
attempting to breakthrough and encircle the Polish army before it can fall back
on the city of Krakow. Elements of the
Polish 6th Division, supported by elements of the Polish 21st
Highland Division are dug in to block the way.

GAME LENGTH:
12 turns

VICTORY CONDITIONS:
Victory points are awarded for the elimination of opposing units (see
Order of Battle section). Reducing a
unit to half strength will earn ½ the VP value of the unit, rounded down. In addition, 1 VP is awarded for controlling
the house in the Northeast (referred to as "Victory House" in the scenario) and 1 VP for the bridge in the Southwest at the end
of the game. Both start the game under
Polish control.

THE
BATTLEFIELD:

The picture is
looking North, thus the bridge is in the lower right and theVictory House is in the upper right. The river is
unfordable. The line of lichen
represents brush growing in a small creek bed that is crossable (as a creek or
gully) and offers soft cover. It does
not block line of sight. Note there is a
roadblock in the road between the hill on the left and the intersection by the
village. Also, there are small dug-in markers at both locations where the creek bed meets the road. This represents the defenders destroying the
culverts, so that the gully essentially extends across the road functioning as a
roadblock and hard cover for defenders at this location.

The Poles must deploy
according to the instructions on their Order of Battle. All units, except the TKS tanks, may be dug
in. The Germans then deploy up to 12” in
from the Western (left) table edge. The
Germans get the initiative on turn 1, therefore, it is possible that both sides
are in shooting range of each other on the opening turn.

POLISH ORDER OF BATTLE

Fearless Trained

6th
Infantry Division

Company
A 1 VP

1 Command Rifle Stand

4
Rifle Stands

1
HMG

1
Light Mortar

1
Rifle Stand with Anti-Tank Rifle

Deploys in the woods, East of the
road.

Company
B 1 VP

1 Command Rifle Stand

4
Rifle Stands

1
HMG

1
Light Mortar

1
Rifle Stand with Anti-Tank Rifle

Deploys in the cluster of houses in
the center of the table. (The village of Pless)

Company
C 1 VP

1 Command Rifle Stand

4
Rifle Stands

Deploys south of the houses between
the road and the river.

Note Companies B & C may deploy
as far forward as the road block.

Division
Support

1
37mm Anti-Tank Gun (attached to Company C)

1
Forward Observer (attached to Company C)

[Off-Board]
3 100mm Howitzers

The ATG & FO may be attached to
any of the Companies in the 6th Division.

Recon
Tank Company 0 VP

3
TKS Tankettes (MG mounts only)

Deploy anywhere west of the road
block.

21st
Highland Division

Company
A 1 VP

1 Command Rifle Stand

4
Rifle Stands

1
HMG

1
Light Mortar

1
Rifle Stand with Anti-Tank Rifle

Deploys in the hills or along the
creek East of the cluster of houses.

Company
B 1 VP

1 Command Rifle Stand

4
Rifle Stands

Deploys in the Southeast between
the bridge and the creek.

Highlands Division
Support

1
37mm Anti-Tank Gun (attached to Company B)

1
Forward Observer (attached to Company A)

[Off-Board]
3 75mm Howitzers

The ATG & FO may be attached to
any of the Companies in the 6th Division.

One
Medic & Supply Truck assigned where needed.

GERMAN ORDER OF BATTLE

Confident Veteran

5th
Panzer Division

Light
Panzer Company 1 VP

1
Panzer I Command Tank

1
Panzer I B

3 Panzer II C

Medium
Panzer Company 1 VP

1
Panzer I B

1 Panzer III E

1 Panzer IV D

2 Panzer Companies & Company A with Orders to move through the woods and take the Victory House.

Motorcycle
Company 2 VP

1 Command Rifle Stand

3 MG Stands

1 Light Mortar

1 HMG

1 Forward Air Controller

Motorcycle Mounts for all the above

Infantry
Company A 1 VP

1 Command Rifle Stand

3 Rifle Stands

1 HMG

Infantry
Company B 1 VP

1 Command Rifle Stand

3 Rifle Stands

Company B tasked with making a demonstration out in front of the village to draw fire away from the flanks. Only to advance if the defenders vacate the village.

Infantry
Company C 1 VP

1 Command Rifle Stand

3 Rifle Stands

1 Forward Observer

[Off-Board] 3 105mm Howitzers

Motorcycle Company & Company C tasked with moving along the river and taking the bridge.

One
Medic, Fuel Truck & Supply Truck assigned where needed.

Priority Air
Support.

TURN 1

[Above] The Medium Panzer Company descends into the
woods.

[Above]
The 2 leading Motorcycles (The Aircraft Forward Observer & Light Mortar)
attempt to by-pass the Polish defenses with an “end run” only to be cut down by
the HMG positioned in the gray house in the distance.

The
Germans had the luck of an early arriving Stuka, which dove on the ATG
positioned on the hill, but to no effect.

TURN 2

The
German tanks advancing through the woods are first spotted by the Polish
Defenders of A Company manning the line there.
The men in the trenches became fearful; armed with only an Anti-tank
rifle while facing a formidable Panzer IV.
On the opposite side of the German advance, the Motorcycle Company chose
to hold up behind the hill and wait for the Forward Observer (attached to C
Company) to catch up on foot.

It
was decided that they needed to call in some smoke to shield their advance up the river
from the Polish defenders.As Company C
moved up, they were spotted by the Polish FO who called in a 100mm barrage on
the Company.As luck would have it, the
Forward Observer was caught in the artillery barrage and the Germans would have to rely on a Command Group to call in the artillery.

Twice
Blessed. A second Stuka comes swooping
in for a crack at the FO & ATG occupying the hill… and for a second time,
the entrenchments proved worthy enough to protect them from the divebombers.

TURN 3

The Company
Commander for the Motorcycles successfully called in a barrage with smoke
rounds to shield their advance along the river.
The Polish 100mm guns bombarded them none-the-less, to no effect. In exchange, the cycles killed the one Polish
squad dug in on the river bank that was blocking their advance.

In
the woods, all hell was breaking loose for the Polish A Company. The Panzer IV came on with a Panzer III,
Panzer I and a pair of Panzer II’s in support.
A bright spot came when the ATG mounted on the hill was able to get a
clear flank shot at the Panzer IV as it crossed the road, knocking it out of
action before the assault.

The
rest of the German tanks assaulted the A Company line and wiped them out,
scoring a Victory Point for the Germans.

Panzers
emerge from the woods and overrun the Polish defensive line. Note the Panzer IV at the top never makes it
across.

Along
the river, the cycles sped ahead while the artillery stoked the smoke screen
for one more turn. Another barrage of
100mm shells came down on the Germans; this time taking out the HMG in the
Motorcycle Company. Yet, they pushed on.

The
Polish 75mm batteries now swung into action as the FO in the hills behind the
forest began spotting the German armor coming through the forest.

With
the armor coming from along the far side of the table, the Poles were able to
issue an Order Change detaching the ATG from Highlands B Company by the bridge
and moving it to A Company up by the Victory House. The crew limbered the weapon and hauled it
down the hill away from the river. They had a ways to go to man-handle the gun over to where A Company was deployed.

TURN 5

The
leading German tanks began to emerge from the woods, immediately coming under
small arms fire from Highlands Company A.
With an Anti-tank rifle and the HMG in the gray house, they were able to
suppress the first two light tanks.

Further
back in the woods, the other tanks from the Light Panzer Company were getting
hung up and required constant work to get unstuck.

German
logistics: Waiting for tanks to get out
of the woods and the infantry to catch up, the Light Panzer Company refuels and
restocks their ammo before the next phase of the fight. Priority
for the flank was to get the unit cohesion back together, allow the supporting
infantry to catch up and resupply before the next assault.

In
the meantime, the Poles dropped another 75mm barrage on the woods; destroying
the Panzer III in the process. This was
enough to shake the morale of the Company Commander and the remainder of the
Medium Panzer Company quit the field.
Score 1-to-1. This also relieved
the Poles of the heavy tank threat brought by the Germans.

Along
the river, the smoke screen lifted and German Company C came under fire from
the 100mm batteries as they continued their advance. By now, they were behind the lines of the
Polish C Company. However, the Poles
remained in position as German Company B (out in front behind the hill) began
firing on the Poles to keep them in position.

Despite
Company C coming under fire, the Motorcycle Company dismounted and assaulted
the Poles at the foot of the hill guarding the bridge. Both sides lost a squad, but the Germans were
able to consolidate over the hill and into the midst of Highland Company B.

TURN 6

As
the Panzers continued to retool in the woods, one of the Panzer II’s came out
and attempted a failed assault on the Polish trenches. It promptly withdrew once the tank commander
realized he couldn’t overrun these trenches as easily without the
numbers to back him up.

In
the center, the Polish TKS in the village added their firepower toward
repelling the Germans to their front.
Company B, hiding behind the hill before them, lost a squad and withdrew
back out of the line of fire. They could
ill-afford a failed platoon morale test at this stage of the battle.

Back
at the bridge, the dismounted Motorcycle Company assaulted Highlands Company B
once again; this time killing the command and causing the Company to route from
the battlefield. This also left the
bridge in German hands:

Germany:
3 Poland: 1.

With
the loss of the bridge and the Germans to the front pulling back behind the
hill, Poland’s company C is chooses to withdraw from the
forward line and attempt to recapture the bridge behind them.

TURN 7

While
the rest of the Light Panzer Company is regrouping, a Panzer II makes a second attempt
to overtake the Polish defenders. This
time the tank is suppressed by the HMG in the house.

To
deal with the new threat of the Germans capturing the bridge, two of the TKS in
the village moved to fire out the back of the village at the Germans. The HMG on the nearest hill from Highlands
Company A has been jammed since Turn 5.

The
Motorcycle Company takes up positions in the blown culvert (hard cover) and
creek bed (soft cover) to defend the bridge while the remnants of C Company
move past them toward Victory House (upper right).

The
Polish artillery continued to come down in earnest, with the 75’s pelting the
woods and the 100’s now redirected on the Germans defending the bridge. None of the shells found a target. In the meantime, the ATG that was scurrying
across the field toward Highland Company A was gunned down by the Germans as
they took up defensive positions along the creek.

Drawing
fire: German 105’s hit the village in an
attempt to take out the MG’s on the tankettes.

TURN 8

The river side
of the battlefield was in flux as Company C had pulled out of their positions
and were closing on the Germans defending the bridge. Both sides exchanged small arms fire with no
hits being scored. Another barrage on
the village also came up empty. The
Poles had to hold off using their 100mm guns as they only had 1 more salvo left
and anticipated needing smoke to cover their advance across the field. In the woods, 75’s continued to fall to no
avail.

By now, German
Company A was emerging from the woods and exchanging small arms fire with the
defending Poles of Highland Company A.
One of the Panzer II’s gunned down a squad of defenders in the trenches.

TURN 9

The tide of the
battle suddenly changed: By the bridge,
concerted firepower from the TKS, Company C and several of the squads from
Highland Company A caused both of the German Companies guarding the bridge to
sustain losses and fail their platoon tests.
What’s more, the Motorcycle Company was worth 2 VP.

Score: Poland 4,
Germany 3

Over by the
woods, the Panzer II’s of the Light Panzer Company finally burst out of the
woods, firing on and assaulting the elements of Highland Company A guarding the
treeline. At the same time, the infantry
were heading up the table edge in the direction of Victory House. As it appeared they had no answer for the
tanks and their right flank was being rolled up, several of the forward squads
from Highland A were ordered to pull back from the creek and head for Victory
House. The race was on!

TURN 10

The race to Victory House
is on! To the left, remnants of A
Company, from the 21st Polish Highland Division fall back from their
positions in an attempt to save the house while, to the right, German A Company
is in a foot race with support from the Light Panzer Company still emerging
from the woods.

As the line
began to collapse toward Victory House, the Panzer II’s stayed behind the hills
to prevent giving the remaining ATG a clear shot at any of them. They were able to roll up or shoot several
more stands from Highland A Company, including the HMG and FO resulting in the
Company failing a platoon morale test and routing from the field. Poland 4, Germany 4.

TURNS 11 & 12

By now it had
become a literal foot race to the objectives.
The Poles had nothing to prevent the German infantry from capturing
Victory House on Turn 11, so the Germans took a brief 5-4 lead. Both sides made sure that no one was in the
line of fire, but the Poles still attempted to wrest control of the house from
the Germans by firing their remaining artillery on the house in the hope of
causing a panic test.

On Turn 12, with
no Germans able to bring them under fire, Poland’s C Company reached the bridge
(+1 VP for Poland, -1 VP for the Germans who lost control of the bridge). Thus, the final score was Poland winning, 5-4
decided on the final turn of the game.

Game played: December 23-24, 2014

OBSERVATIONS

This is a game
where the use of Orders was critical toward maintaining a well-balanced
game. In a game where players could just
do what they want and shift their resources according to their aerial view of
the table, the Poles could have shifted quickly and the battle would not have
been nearly as close.

However, by
using Orders, the semblance of realism can be maintained- especially where the
Poles did not have a good command & control structure on the
battlefield. Therefore, their static
forces in the village and forward trenches did not react to being by-passed by
the German armor or motorcycles until the threat of them being surrounded
became real. Likewise, by keeping small
Company B out front and taking “pot shots” at the forward Polish positions, the
Poles had to hold their ground until they were sure no attack was coming up the
middle.

The tactics utilized
by the German commander (the “demonstration” to the front while flanking forces
attempted to by-pass the lines) were frequently used in real life and can only
be replicated by following Orders and not allowing players to meta-game
(reacting to things they cannot see).

No comments:

Post a Comment

About Me

A friend and I are fulfilling a Bucket List Wish: Gaming World War II beginning to end. I am using this forum to capture the scenarios created/used and battle reports for posterity. In time I am certain I will run out of space and old ones will be replaced with more current ones.